Electric-lamp socket.



H. WHEELER.

ELECTRIC LAMP SOCKET.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.10, 1909.

1,022,906. Patented Apr. 9, 1912 \\\\\\I L 1/ s W M 1 Q @p w: mp3}? MffWkeeZez'.

WM- M W UNITED sTA'r s PATEN OFFICE,

HORACE WHEELER, or HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, nssronon.

. COMPANY, A COBPORATION OF NEW YORK.

T0 GENERAL ELECTRIC ELECTRIC-LAMP socxiir.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 9, 1912.

Application filed March 10, 1909. Serial No. 482,579.

T 0 all whom it may concern: t.

3e it known that I, HORACE WHEELER, citizen of the United States,residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inElectric- Lamp Sockets, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a. lamp socket of the. rosette.type particularly adapted for use in certain locations and character ofillumination wherein it is frequently necessary to replace defectivelamps, and to accomplish the desired resultt'rom'the rear .of thesocket.

The invention further consists in the novel construction and arrangementof the several parts designed to form a lamp socket comprisingessentially a transparent nonconductor body-portion containing a socket,detachably secured to a ring connected to. the line wires and'forming acircuit.

The numerous advantages of the socket will be obvious in that the lampmay be introduced and. withdrawn from the rear, thus greatlysimplifying'the construction necessary for the illumination of the showwindows and towers of buildings, etc., and whereby an attendant may,from the inside of the tower or rear of a partition, inspect the lampsby means of the transparentbodyportion without removingthe socket orlamp, replacing the lamp when desired. Furthermore the unsightlyconstruction of wires placed upon the exterior walls of towers or uponthe exposed side of a show 'and Fig. 2

windgw partition is eliminated, and the wires. concealed and protectedfrom the elements.

For a full understanding of the invention and the merits thereof,reference is to be had to the following description and the accompanyingdrawings, in which .Figure 1 is a rear plan View illustrating thearrangement of the socket and wires, a vertical sectional View. of thesocket.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the samereference characters. I

Referring to the drawings the numeral 1 designates the line or circuitwires supportnd held n heir prope relati e posi ion. y clips s u ed t aW l 9 par i i n if.

tongues 9, also held in in any suitable manner, and 4 designates a r ngcomposed of non-conducting material adapted to be secured to said wallintermediate of the wires 1 as byscrews 5 as shown. The said ring-disprovided with ears 6.to which plates 7 are secured as by screws 817)form a clamp for the wires 1 and constitute a line connection for thespring contact 7 position upon the ring 4 by the said screws. v

The numeral 10 designates a glass or other transparent non-conductingbody portion or socket base provided with a recess 11 which may beinternally expanded to more securely hold a lamp: socket 12'containing alamp 12, when embedded and surrounded by suitable insulating cement 13.The opening 15 in the wall through which. the body portion 10 protrudesis preferably rabbeted as shown at 16, and said body portion is .formedwith an annular shoulder arranged to abut the rabbeted section of thewall and form an air tight, water proof joint by means of an annularcompression ring 17 interposed between said abutting sections.

The numeral 18 designates contact strips extending from-the lamp socketthrough the transparent body 10 to the rear wall and projecting beyondthe rim of said-body, adaptedlo nrake contact with the spring tongues 9and cooperate with said tongues to hold the socket securely in positionwithin the recess or opening 15.

As a means for easily removing or replacing the bodylO within the recess15, and also to completely insulate all contacts, a knob 19 ofnon-conducting material provided witharms 20 integral with and extendingfrom the shank of the knob, is

secured to said body as by a bolt 21 passingthrough said knob and bodyportion and bolted within the socket recess 11.- The ends of said armsare flush with the rim of the body 10 and provided on their inner facewith a longitudinal groove designed to receive the contact strips 18 andprotect the fingers of an operator from coming in contact with theotherwise exposed strips.

With the arrangement of the several parts'as shown the operation of thesocket compared with rosette sockets now in use is comparatively simpleas will be'pointed out. Where the ordinary rosette socket is used forsupporting incande cen lamps p n ex- .teriorwalls and towers ofbuildings in amusement parks or other places it is frequently necessaryto replace defective lamps by lowering an operator from the roof of abuilding or top of a tower notwithstanding the possible consequencesincident to such a procedure. With the present invention the wires areplaced inside the building walls or partitions and the transparent bodyof the socket is adapted to intersect said walls, acw cessible to anoperator and whereby the condition of a lamp may be ascertained withoutremoval from its position. The lamp 12, contact strips 18, andtransparent body are rigidly secured to the knob 19 and arms 15, 20 bythe bolt 21, and held securely in position within the recess 15 in thewall by the projecting ends of the contact strips engaging the springtongues 9 secured to the ring 4, said ring being secured to the wall. Inthis position an air-tight, water proof joint is formed by the shoulder14 abutting the rabbeted portion 16 of the opening 15, and 00- operatingwith the compression. ring 17 interposed between said socket and wall.To

remove or adjust a lamp the knob 19, rigidly secured to the body 10 isturned sufficiently, to disengage the projecting ends of the con actstrips 18 from the spring contact tongues 9 secured to the ring 4,whereby the entire socket containing the lamp may be r ithdrawn.

The advantagesof my invention are as follows: Aside from the ability ofan operator to withdraw the lamp from the rear 85 and to observe throughthe glass of the lamp socket the condition of the lamp, it will be seenthat the socket is held in place on the support by the spring tongues18, which form with the spring strips 9 a sort of a bayonet joint. Thetongues and strips being resilient, they tend to force the socket inwardinto close contact with the packing strip 16 so that there will be nopossibility of the lamps becoming dislodged and there fore leaving apassage around the socket in which rain may enter. It will also be seenthat the contact strips are fully protected so that the operator. cannotcome in contact with these strips in withdrawing the lamp from itsengagement or inserting a new lamp.

While I have referred to transparent material, such as glass, as beingused for the lamp socket, I wish it understood that I might use atranslucent material for this purpose, provided it was suflicientlytranslucent for the operator to observe whether the electric lamp wasburning brightly or dimly or whether it was entirely out.

I claim is: I p

1. A lamp socket comprising a transparent or translucent body providedon one face with a central recess for the reception of an electric lightbase,-electrical connec- Having thus described the invention,.what

noaaace tions passing into said body from the rear H thereof and throughthe body into the recess and there adapted to make connection with saidlamp, and a shield attached to the rear face of said body and coveringthe exterior ends of the connections leading to the lamp, said shield,however, covering only a portion of the entire rear face of said socketbody.

2. The combination with a support having an opening entirely through it,of an electric lamp socket fitting in said opening and when fittedtherein extending through to the front face thereof, comprising atransparent or translucent body provided with a recess on its front facefor engagement with a lamp ase and having an electrical connectionpassing through the body from the rear there'of.-

3. In combination with a support having an opening entirely through it,said opening being recessed to form an inwardly extending seat, of alamp socket fitting said opening and closing the same to the entrance ofmoisture, said socket being formed of transparent or translucentmaterial and being provided wit-ha recess on its outer face for thereception of an electric lamp, and electrical connections passingthrough the socket, into said recess and extending out of 95 the socketon the rear face thereof.

4. The combination with a support having an opening extending entirelythrough it, of a lamp socket filling said opening and closing the same,said socket being formed of transparent or translucent material andhaving a recess for the reception of an electric lamp upon its outerface, electrical connections'extending at one end into said recess, theother ends of said connections extending out of the socket upon the rearface thereof and projecting radially beyond the rear face of the socket,connections mounted upon said support with which said radiallyprojecting socket connections contact, and a knob attached to the rearface of the transparent body, whereby the body i may be turned in orwithdrawn from the support.

5. The combination with a support havingan opening entirely through it,spring contact strips having the shape of an arc of a circle mounted atone end upon said support at the margin of the opening, and electricalconnections attached to said contact strips, of a lampsocket comprisinga body of transparent or translucent material fitting said opening andhaving on its front face a recess for the connection of an electriclamp, contact strips extending into said recess through the socket bodyfrom the rear face thereof, said'strips extendingiradially outward onthe rear face of the body and beyond the edge of the same and adapted tocontact with the contact strips on "the support, and a knob attachedtothe rear face of the socket body, whereby itmay be turned in "orwithdrawn from the support.

6. The combination with a support having an opening entirely through it,opposed contact strips mounted on the support and extendingalong themargin of the opening in opposite directions, and electrical connectionsattached to said contact strips, of a lamp socket comprising atransparent or translucent body adapted to fit within the said openingand formed on its front face with a central recess for the reception ofan electric lamp, contact strips extending into said recess through thebody, the ends of said. strips projecting upon the rear face of the bodyand then extending radially across the face and projecting beyond thebody, said strips being adapted to engage with the strips upon thesupport, and a knob attached to the rear'face of the body and having ashield projecting therefrom, covering said strips but not coyering therear face of the socket.

7. The combinationwith a support having an opening entirely through it,opposed spring contact strips mounted upon the support and extendingpartly around the margin of the opening on opposite sides of theopening, contact wires electrically connected to said contact strips, ofa lamp socket comprising a transparent or translucent body adapted to beinserted within and filling said opening in the support. said body beingformed with a recess upon its front face adapted to receive an electriclamp base.

. electrical connections passing through and 1 ing into said recess fromthe rear face of closed in the walls of said body and projecttion of anelectric lamp base, electrical connections passing through the socket tothe rear thereof,'opposed strips mounted on the support on oppositesides of said opening,

said strips being mounted at one end upon.

the support, the other end of the strips being free and spaced from thesupport, and radially projecting strips on the rear face of thesocket'adapted to engage beneath the strips on the support to hold thelamp socket in place.

9. The combination :with a support hav ing an opening througlrinfofalamp socket comprising a: body fitting in said opening, said body beingcircumferentially rabbeted and formed with a recess on its front facefor the reception of an electric lamp base, a packing interposed betweenthe shoulder of the rabbet on the socket and the supporting wallsurrounding the socket and resilient means for clamping the socket inplace in the opening of the support, said means being at the rear'ofsaid socket and support. 10. The combination with a support having anopening therethrough, of a lamp.

socket comprising a transparent or trans: lucent body portion fittingsaid opening and provided on its front face with a recess for thereception of an electric lamp base, and

also provided with an annular shoulder, a

contacting spring interposed between said support and the annularshoulder, a ring of support and surrounding said opening, opposed springtongues mounted on the insu lating ring, electrical connections to saidspring tongues, andcontact strips extending throughsaid socket body fromthe recess therein to the rear face thereof, said-strips being thenradially extended beyond the margin of the body and adapted to engagebeneath ,said" spring tongues tohold the socket in place and formelectrical connections to the lamp.

Inv testimony whereof I afliir signature in presenceof two witnesses.

HORACE 'WHEELER. [1 8.]

Witnesses:

W. H. LrTTLEFIELD, .EDWARD LEWIS.

insulating material on the rear face of the r

